Billy Hayes net worth
Billy Hayes Net Worth: William “Billy” Hayes is an American actor, director and writer who has a net worth of $500,000. William Hayes is best known for his autobiography, The Midnight Express, which was the basis for a film of the same name. Hayes was born on April 3, 1947 in New York City, New York.
As an American student in Turkey, Hayes was arrested on October 7, 1970, for attempting to smuggle 4 pounds of marijuana out of the country. He spent four years and one month in a Turkish prison. As his sentence is about to expire, the Turkish government has opted to extend his sentence to life imprisonment. He was taken to Sağmalcılar prison. In 1972, after an accident in prison, he was transferred to a mental institution. Hayes later described the experience as traumatic. The United States has repeatedly tried to get the Turkish government to transfer him to the United States for trial, but have been rejected. In 1975, Turkey pardoned the drug addict, reducing his life sentence to twenty-five years. In July of the same year, he was transferred to İmralı Prison, from which he escaped on October 2, 1975. Hayes wrote about his experiences in his autobiographical book, The Midnight Express, which was adapted into the 1978 film of the same name. The film was a success, although Hayes wasn’t happy with parts of the film adaptation. Hayes was terrified of returning to Turkey due to the deterioration of Turkey’s image in the film adaptation. He finally attended the Istanbul Conference on Democracy and Global Security in 2007 and apologized to the Turkish people. In 2010, the National Geographic Channel aired a documentary titled “Detained Abroad: The Real Midnight Express,” in which Hayes told the story of his imprisonment and escape from İmralı Prison. He is now a writer and actor in the entertainment industry.
